If you’ve found this website, you or someone you know may be grieving. You may be in the depths of sorrow, seeking comfort and direction. You may be looking for spiritual resources to guide you toward the light of new life. You may want to know more about grief to help someone whose heart is broken by the death of a loved one.

Wherever you are on your journey through grief, my heart is with you. Over the past ten years I’ve experienced the death of my beloved husband, my father, and my mother. Like you, I know the intensely personal pain of grief. We grieve because we love.

Not long after my husband died I realized that I needed to understand my grief if I were to survive and ever get through it. Sorting out what I was feeling and how what happened to changed my life forever took me to the depths of my heart and soul. There I encountered my inmost self and experienced both the frailty and strength of my faith. The journey of grief takes us inevitably through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4 RSV). When we emerge at last from the darkness of grief, we find that our soul has been restored through the loving care of God’s infinite grace.

As you explore the website, you'll find many possibilities for grief understanding. If you’d like to know a little about my own grief journey, see About. If you’re interested in sharing your story or have a comment or question, Ask Julie links to an email address. When you send a message, I will respond personally and confidentially to support you in your grief.

There are more than 100 Blog posts on the website. Whatever your interest or need, you’ll find a broad range of topics on the emotional, spiritual, and practical aspects of grief most of us experience. By using the drop-down menus, you can search by title, keyword, or category.

Prayers offer an additional spiritual resource, especially if you’re struggling each day with how to pray or what to pray. The prayers are linked to a blog that provides the context of the prayer.

On the Home page you’ll find different Devotionals each day from Beyond the Broken Heart - Daily Devotions for Your Grief Journey (Abingdon Press 2012).

If you’re interested in reading more about grief, Resources links to books, the Beyond the Broken Heart grief group program materials, including a video, and media clips.

There's also a NEW BOOK, Grief Light, a collection of positive, uplifting reflections on life and love and death. Many of the universal truths of grief are illuminated using practical spiritual illustrations and examples from ordinary life. The book also addresses some of the more contemporary modalities of grief such as collective/communal grief, incomplete grief, compound grief, and complicated grief. 

Under Groups there are several pages that may be of interest to you. The Become a Leader FAQ is for those who want to form and lead a group. At Find a Group enter your zip code if you’re looking for a grief support group in your area.

I hope that this website and the Beyond the Broken Heart resources offer the comfort, support, and encouragement you need to guide your way back to renewed hope and fullness of life. It’s my prayer that your broken heart will be transformed through God’s steadfast love and abiding faithfulness. You are not alone.

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

John 16:20 NIV